Skip to main content

Eastern Europe has the most noxious drivers in the continent

The Czech Republic has the highest levels of toxic emissions caused by drivers, in a study of 25 European countries conducted by The Eco Experts. It found that Poland, Estonia, Croatia and Slovakia ranked in the top five counties for noxious drivers, making Eastern Europe the most toxic region in the continent. Czech drivers ranked the highest for using old and poor quality cars that are just over 14 years old. Results also showed that the number of cars powered by sustainable fuel alternatives is at 0.7
March 29, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
The Czech Republic has the highest levels of toxic emissions caused by drivers, in a study of 25 European countries conducted by The Eco Experts. It found that Poland, Estonia, Croatia and Slovakia ranked in the top five counties for noxious drivers, making Eastern Europe the most toxic region in the continent.


Czech drivers ranked the highest for using old and poor quality cars that are just over 14 years old. Results also showed that the number of cars powered by sustainable fuel alternatives is at 0.7%, which is nearly 22 times less than Poland.

Poland came second for having the most toxic drivers in Europe. However, the inquiry also revealed that the country has the highest proportion of alternative fuel vehicles at 15%. These figures, according to The Eco Experts, suggests that the country’s efforts to combat its high air pollution levels are heavily dependent on the roll out of sustainably powered vehicles.

The initiative cross-referenced data for the percentage of alternative fuel cars, average vehicle age, the number of vehicles per 1,000 people and ambient air pollution. Individual rankings were then combined to give an overall impression of the countries that have the most toxic motorists.

Fran Whittaker-Wood of The Eco Experts said: “Road transport is one of the biggest sources of air pollution and although our research shows that poor quality vehicles is the biggest contributing factor to toxic driving emissions, the reality is that most people can’t afford to replace their cars with sustainable alternatives because they are just too expensive. If governments are serious about cutting driver pollution levels then more needs to be done to make these cars affordable to everyone.”

Sweden ranked in first place overall for having Europe’s greenest motorists. Additional findings are available %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external here false https://blog.theecoexperts.co.uk/most-toxic-drivers-europe false false%>.

Related Content

  • March 11, 2019
    British Safety Council launches app for measuring air pollution in London
    The British Safety Council (BSC) and Kings College London have launched an app for outdoor workers to measure exposure to air pollution – an increasing preoccupation for the ITS industry. The Canairy app could help improve workzone safety by providing employees, and their bosses, with information to help them reduce exposure to air pollution. The app is being launched as part of the BSC’s ‘Time to Breathe’ campaign, which seeks to encourage companies, policymakers and regulators to take the risks of
  • October 1, 2018
    MaaS to replace 2.3bn annual car journeys by 2023, says Juniper
    Mobility as a Service (MaaS) platforms will replace over 2.3 billion urban private car journeys by 2023, according to new research. This compares with 17.6 million globally in 2018. According to the study from Juniper Research, western Europe will account for 83% of global MaaS trips in 2023. Mobility-as-a-Service: Emerging Opportunities, Vendor Strategies & Market Forecasts 2018-2023 says Helsinki, Finland, will lead MaaS implementation, followed by Stockholm, Sweden and Vienna, Austria.
  • March 13, 2018
    UK govt seeks cycle safety evidence as report calls for new laws
    A report from legal expert Laura Thomas has claimed that there is a strong case for changing the law to combat dangerous cycling, which if implemented, would bring offences in line with dangerous driving. It ties in with the Department for Transport's Call for Evidence, which is seeking to address issues that cyclists and pedestrians face, or perceive when using the road infrastructure. Thomas said: “Overall, in my opinion, the present law on cycling is not sufficient. I suggest that an offence comprising
  • September 17, 2019
    Ertico reveals new ITS event for 2020 in Russia
    Ertico – ITS Europe has announced it is to hold the first-ever Central Eastern European Congress next year. Hosted by the city of Kazan, in south-west Russia, the event will focus on cooperation with Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States (which comprises a number of countries formed after the break-up of the Soviet Union) and Central Eastern countries, says Ertico. It will take place in Kazan, Tatarstan on 21-24 September 2020 and there is a preview of the event in the city next month, on 3-4 Oct